In celebration of his 71st birthday, Levon Helm will be performing his “Ramble on the Road” at the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) on Friday, May 27 at 8 p.m., joined by Donald Fagen, the keyboard/vocalist half of Steely Dan, singer/songwriter Marc Cohn, who earned fame with “Walking in Memphis,” and Natalie Merchant. Both Fagen – a fellow Hudson Valley resident and longtime friend – and Cohn have performed with the former Band member, actor and Woodstock celebrity before; but Merchant will be making her Ramble debut.

Other guests, as yet unannounced, will also perform. Bardavon executive director Chris Silva hinted that because Bob Dylan wasn’t on tour, it was possible that he might decide to show up – although he absolutely wasn’t making any promises.

Besides pushing up the volume a bit, the UPAC gig also provides an opportunity to hear Helm if you’ve been unable to afford tickets for the Ramble that he holds regularly at his Woodstock home: General admission for the UPAC event is a relatively affordable $65 (the price goes up to $100 for a seat in the first ten rows). The big question is whether you can get a seat, with tickets having gone on sale April 28 to Bardavon members and on May 4 to the general public. Even if the show is sold out by the time you’re reading this, it doesn’t hurt to get your name on the waiting list.

Helm is also giving back to the community on the occasion of this concert, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting UPAC’s capital campaign and the Rhinebeck Science Foundation. For tickets, call UPAC at (845) 339-6088 or contact TicketMaster at (800) 745-3000.